The police had been investigating alleged criminal gang leader David Gatt in connection with the hit-style murder of a bar owner in Xemxija, Police Inspector Chris Pullicino said yesterday.

Dr Gatt, a lawyer and former police inspector, had been named by PC 99 Mario Portelli as the person who contracted the killing of 31-year-old Renzo Borg from Naxxar, who was found lying on a pavement after he was shot twice in cold blood in 2008.

The police never established what he was doing in that particular road or if he had been chased by his assailants but they were working under the premise that the murder followed a drug deal gone bad.

PC 99 had alleged that Dr Gatt felt wronged by that deal and contracted Mr Borg’s murder in retaliation, Mr Pullicino told the court yesterday.

He added that the investigation went cold after no further corroborating evidence could be found.

In fact, the only thing that seemed to back up PC Portelli’s claim was the fact that the police were looking into the possibility that a drug deal was to blame for the murder, Inspector Pullicino said.

The inspector was testifying in the case against Dr Gatt, who stands charged with masterminding a string of hold-ups, including one on the HSBC headquarters in June 2010 and another on a jeweller in Attard that November, both of which were foiled.

The rest of proceedings yesterday revolved around a statement given to the police by Raymond Abela, who was implicated in the case when PC 99 claimed that he and Dr Gatt had visited Dr Abela’s restaurant and the restaurateur kissed the lawyer’s hand and spoke to him in Italian.

This supported various other claims that PC 99 had previously made portraying Dr Gatt as a man obsessed with the Sicilian Mafia and who modelled his criminal gang on the infamous boss of the Corleonesi clan, Toto Riina.

In his statement, which was read out in court, Mr Abela told the police that he did not know PC Portelli and could not recall seeing him at his restaurant with Dr Gatt.

Inspector Pullicino asked him why he had deleted Dr Gatt’s mobile phone number from his phone, to which he replied that once Dr Gatt had been charged he had no reason to speak to him.

He added that he had only done so after seeking professional advice.

The inspector also confronted him about why Dr Gatt’s mobile phone number had been saved under the name Toto.

Mr Abela said that when he replaced his old mobile phone, he had asked Dr Gatt what name he should save the number under and he told him “Toto”.

On his old phone, he had it saved under “Inspector David Gatt”.

The case continues.